Dhaka: Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus Monday hailed a special tribunal’s verdict against deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her aide, saying the ruling affirmed a fundamental principle - “no one, regardless of power, is above the law.”
The International Crimes Tribunal-Bangladesh (ICT-BD) sentenced 78-year-old Hasina and her former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death in absentia for “crimes against humanity” during last year’s student uprising.
Hasina has been living in India since she fled Bangladesh on August 5 last year in the face of the massive protests. She was earlier declared a fugitive by the court. Kamal is also believed to be in India.
“Today, the courts of Bangladesh have spoken with a clarity that resonates across the nation and beyond. The conviction and sentencing affirm a fundamental principle: no one, regardless of power, is above the law,” Yunus said in a statement.
Yunus had assumed charge as the chief advisor of the interim government last year in August, three days after Hasina fled to India after the massive protests toppled her 16 year regime.
Commenting on the verdict, Hasina denied the charges as “biased and politically motivated” and said the judgment has been made by a “rigged tribunal” established and presided over by an “unelected government with no democratic mandate”.
In his statement, Yunus said the verdict offered justice to the thousands harmed in the uprising of July and August 2024, and to the families who still carry their loss.
“We stand at a moment of rebuilding democratic foundations wrecked by years of oppression.
The crimes at issue - the ordering of lethal force against young people and children whose only weapons were their voices - violated both our laws and the basic bond between government and citizens. These acts outraged Bangladeshis’ core values: dignity, resilience, and commitment to justice,” he said.
A UN rights office report had estimated that up to 1,400 people were
killed during the month-long agitation last year, known as the July Uprising.
Hasina was handed the death penalty for ordering the use of deadly force against unarmed protesters, making inflammatory statements and authorising operations that led to the killing of several students in Dhaka and surrounding areas.
“As many as 1,400 lives were lost. They were not statistics but students, parents, and citizens with rights.
Months of testimony detailed how lethal force, even from helicopters, was used against unarmed protesters.
This verdict recognises their suffering and confirms that our justice system will hold perpetrators accountable,” Yunus said.